Five Nights At Freddys: The Withered Branch
by KirithianLioness
Summary: In a world where humans are as strong as animatronics, a young African-American man takes on the role of the Security Guard. It isn't long before he discovers something's out to get him. Will he live or will he die fighting for his life? Based on an old fangame idea I had! Rated T to violence, blood, and minor swearing!


He entered the pizzeria with pride and dignity, more than ready to start this new job that everybody was afraid to do. "Pfft, this place doesn't even look THAT scary!" He scoffed at the idea that this place could even be considered scary. He wandered around for a bit before pausing at the stage where 3 monstrous animatronics stood, they all had a creepy vibe but it wasn't enough to scare him. "Hah, you may be bigger than me in height, but you don't scare me one bit!" He laughed a little bit at them and continued on, all the way to Pirate's Cove. He pulled one of the curtains aside to reveal the giant fox. "Well aren't you a cute one.." He said with an almost-sneering tone, he smiled and began to trek down the left hallway into his office.

It was there that he found his badge, hat, and his nametag. "Here it is!" He picked up the nametag, it was a plastic rectangle with letters spelling out "Dennis Mangrove" in gold letters. He clipped the nametag on right over his left shirt-pocket. He gently stuck the hat on his fluffy red hair and stuck the badge on his right shirt-pocket, it gleamed in the dim light of the office. He assessed his surroundings for a while before actually sitting down and picking up that decades-old tablet that controlled the pizzeria's camera system.

"I wonder what those animatronics have seen, even if they were alive, I'd love to ask them." He flicked through the camera system carelessly seeing if all the cameras actually worked, all but one did. He leaned back in the chair and stared at the roof of the office sighing with boredom. "This is so boring." He said to himself, annoyed, but either way he prepared himself for whatever was going to happen.

Night 1

As the clock struck 12 Dennis sat back up hearing it's chime. "Right, time to get to whatever the heck I'm supposed to do." He grabbed the desk and pulled himself to it, picking up the tablet and once more flicking through the cameras. Meanwhile in the dining room, the animatronics began to stretch and move their limbs. They made small grunting noises as they stretched their stiff limbs out and looked at each other. "Err...Morning Bonnie." The bear spoke in a gruff british-sounding voice, the bunny blinked for a second before responding. "Morning Freddy." The bunny spoke, in a very light childish australian voice.

The bunny turned to the chicken and spoke. "And morning Chica!" The chicken's eyes shot open and glanced at the bunny. "Morning Bonnie." Her voice sounded rough and very american. They blinked and stayed silent for about 30 seconds before Bonnie spoke up. "Hey did you see that...guy?" The animatronics all nodded. "Yeah I wonder if HE'S our new night guard!" Chica yelled, she had such wild energy. While they were talking, Dennis was watching them with curious intent. "So they can move, huh." Dennis flicked away from the camera. The animatronics watched as the camera looked away and hopped off the stage with inhuman speed. They separated from each other, Chica going to wake the fox, Bonnie and Freddy going down the left hallway to meet Dennis. Dennis looked to his left and saw the shadows of both Bonnie and Freddy, coming closer and closer to his door. Unknowing of how to react, he stayed still, as the two animatronics poked their massive heads in, grinning wildly.

Dennis was frozen, not in fear, but in sheer confusion. In this frozen state he heard a noise from behind him and spun around to face the fox and Chica. Dennis's body went into a fight-or-flight state, but he didn't move, as the animatronics moved in front of him, all four of them staring evilly into his eyes. "Well, well, well! Look what we have here! A new Night Security Guard!" Chica said wildly , the sheer volume of her voice made Dennis flinch. "I can't tell if he be afraid or not." The fox said, Dennis could obviously tell the fox was a pirate by the way he spoke. Dennis's fists began to clench involuntarily, and he felt a tinge of panic start to form, but he aggressively fought against it. "I'm...I'm not scared, I'm just confused." He answered a bit shakily. Bonnie chuckled a bit and began to back Dennis up against a wall. Dennis, unsure of what the hell this giant bunny was about to do to him, backed up until he hit the back wall. Bonnie crouched down to be at eye-level with Dennis and said with an evil snarl. "You're not going to last long here, buddy." Dennis stayed frozen to the wall as the bunny backed away.

Bonnie turned to Freddy with a huge grin on his face. "Can we tell him what we're gonna do to him?!" Freddy, giving a smirk, nodded. "Chica! Grab him!" He barked, and Chica immediately dashed towards Dennis and restrained him by pinning him against the wall. Dennis wildly struggled, his fight-response kicking in quickly. Chica, however, was too strong for him and he gave up. Chica ripped him off the back wall and held him in an elbow choke, Dennis snarled but not aggressively. "WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He roared as Bonnie leaned in. "Simple," His tone suddenly went dark. "Killing you." Those two dreadful words ignited an insane fight response coupled with pure fear. "Wh-what?! Why?!" He yelled in sheer panic. Bonnie answered him. "We find it rather...fun, to watch the guards panic and try to flee." Bonnie grinned as he jerked his hands down, and claws popped out of his fingers. Dennis knew what he had to do, fight back.

Dennis aggressively began to struggle against Chica, causing her to try a new position. She now attempted to pin him against the floor but Dennis, being very agile, managed to slip right under her as she was in the fast process of changing her position. Bonnie, without any sign of hesitation, charged towards Dennis, claws extended. Dennis froze for about 3 seconds before leaping backwards away from Bonnie, and found himself against the wall, faced with a snarling animatronic bunny who was trying to kill him. Dennis growled and got into a fighting stance. Bonnie saw this as a challenge and snarled back at him, every wire in his metal body pulsing with anger. Dennis's heart was beating furiously, his entire body on edge, ready to spring and fight for his life. Dennis bared his teeth and sprung foolishly towards Bonnie, who was ready for him. Bonnie knocked Dennis down with a swipe of his left claw, scoring Dennis's left cheek and knocking him into the right wall just an inch away from the two buttons on that same wall. Dennis laid there on the floor for a second, before getting up and feeling his scratched cheek. The blood on his hand stood out against his dark brown skin, and this sight made him angry. Angrier than he had ever been. Bonnie was making his way towards Dennis, and when he got a foot away from Dennis he sprang up at him, grabbing onto his head and knocking him onto his back. Bonnie let out a roar of pain as his back collided with the tiled floor of the office, and he struggled against Dennis, who had him pinned and was now tearing at him. Dennis was halfway through Bonnie when Freddy joined the fight. He pounced at Dennis, knocking him into the desk extremely hard. He was fortunate the force wasn't strong enough to break his spine, but the force broke his right shoulder. Dennis panted as he sat there against the cracked desk, gripping his shoulder and moaning with pain. He looked up to see Freddy unsheathing the same claws as Bonnie, and Bonnie grunting in pain as he bled oil. Dennis, now deciding that if he was to survive he must ignore the pain, leapt up at Freddy the same way he did with Bonnie, this time he fastened his hands on Freddy's shoulders. Freddy thrashed around viciously, trying to throw Dennis off. He ended up throwing Dennis off at the cost of his right ear. Freddy yelled in pain as he clutched the spot where his right ear used to be. Dennis stood there, holding his right ear and panting hard. Blood has begun to seep from his left nostril, but this did not bother him, he was used to seeing blood come out of him, but it made him angry.

Both Freddy and Bonnie leapt at Dennis at the same time, while Dennis strategically dropped down and kicked Freddy over him, forcing him to slam his head into the wall behind him. However, this genius tactic came at the price of Bonnie now on him. Bonnie raised a claw over Dennis and brought it down on Dennis, clawing his left eye and causing him to yowl in pain. He thrashed and eventually managed to kick Bonnie off of him, but he was stunned from the blow to his eye, leaving his entire body exposed. Bonnie saw this and charged him, slamming him into the wall where Freddy had slammed his head due to Dennis. He hit the floor with a loud thud and bled, not moving for a bit. "No," he thought. "I cannot die here, not now!" Dennis made a fist, and pulled himself back up, a small pool of blood had surrounded him by now, he knew he had to finish the fight fast or he would die of exhaustion. He used the desk for leverage as he roared at the horribly injured Bonnie. Bonnie turned around to face him. "Still alive, eh? Well you won't be for long!" Bonnie yelled as he swung his left arm at Dennis, attempting to slash his neck, but he defended his neck well by grabbing his arm and throwing it down, snapping it. Bonnie yelled in agony as he fell backwards from the pain. He snarled, he desperately attempted to get back up but he couldn't. "FREDDY, IT'S UP TO YOU!" He yelled, and Freddy glared at Dennis. Chica joined the fight this time, but it was obvious that she wasn't a fighter, as Dennis was easily able to take her down by throwing her onto the floor, snapping her shoulder. Dennis knew he had to defeat only Freddy now, as he saw out of the corner of his eye, that the fox was horrified. Freddy snarled, bringing Dennis's attention back, and Dennis was on the attack now, charging forward. He and Freddy both jumped at each other, clawing at each other. Blood and oil were spewed all over the place, the oil from Freddy, and the blood from Dennis. Dennis was thrown back by Freddy, skidding across the tile, leaving a trail of blood.

"Ahh.." He grunted as he tried to get up, but his arms were too weak to support him. His vision began to blur, but as it blurred, he heard a noise. Through the increasing blur he saw another figure jump out and attack Freddy, the figure looked older but his eyes closed soon after. He could still faintly hear the battle, but the sound eventually drowned out. Dennis laid there in silence until he felt something touching him, he wearily opened his eyes slightly to see the figure kneeling over him, bandaging him. He got a good look at the person now, he was definitely older, with grey hair and a grey beard. His mouth was moving, but Dennis couldn't hear his words. As the sound began to drift back in, he began to hear him. "Are you okay..?" The older person asked. Dennis blinked and his eyes fully opened, staring into the older man's eyes. He couldn't believe it, it was another night guard. Dennis coughed, responding "I..I'm..fi..ne.." Dennis attempted to get up, but the other guard kept him down. "Stay down, or you'll hurt yourself further." He stopped trying to move at the older guard's command. "Wh...Who...are you?" He questioned, as the other guard finished the last of his bandages. "My name's William, William Jackson." The older guard answered as he helped Dennis get up. "And you must be Dennis Mangrove." Dennis looked at him with shock, how did this other guard know his name? Either way, he was thankful for this man, as he walked outside into the bright light of the sun.

Night 2

Dennis walked back in, it was night 2 now, and he knew that the animatronics were going to get aggressive this time. The animatronics were already awake and moving. Dennis glared at them as they glared at him. "You're going to regret night 1, you foolish guard!" Bonnie snapped, but he didn't flinch and only snarled back. "We shall see, you fucker." he walked away from them, and walked over to William, who was waiting for Dennis. "They really seem to hate you, Dennis." He joked, as his snarling became intense. "Nobody told me I had to fight for my own life!" He stormed past William and entered the office. William sighed and followed shortly after. "Well at least you're not AS outnumbered as you were last night." He remarked. "True, I'm not as outnumbered as I was." Dennis's brows twitched, thinking back to last night where he nearly died. "Well they're going to come back, even stronger than before." His tone had shifted from jokingly to very serious rather quickly. "Whatever, I'll fight them, and I will never stop fighting even if it kills me!" Dennis declared, his fists clenching once more at the thought of those animatronics beating him at something. It was a common thing for him to have a hatred for losing, it was human nature for god's sake. William could see the hatred in his eyes, and felt a bit intimidated by it, but he was used to this since he had seen this type of hatred before in himself and Bonnie. By now all of the animatronics were out and began the hunt for both William Jackson and Dennis Mangrove.

William apparently was a few steps ahead of Dennis, as he shut both of the doors. Dennis didn't quite know why he did this, because he didn't trust that those doors could even keep the animatronics out. "Hey William, are you sure they can't, like, break those doors..?" William looked back at him and nodded. It was this raw trust that William had that fascinated Dennis, for that type of trust was a skill Dennis never developed. At first Dennis thought there was absolutely no way this guy could fight, as William looked like he was in his 50s or 60s, considering the grey hair and beard. But there was something Dennis didn't quite see; William was muscular and well fit. Dennis looked weak compared to him, but he did not let that thought stop his clear judgement. He saw the red glowing eyes of Bonnie just outside the window, snarling loud enough to be heard right through it, and he responded by snarling back, but William stopped him. "Don't snarl at him, it makes him more agitated and harder to beat if he was to get in here." He warned, and Dennis stopped snarling. Bonnie only smirked at that action and continued to watch. "Don't think these doors will keep us out forever, remember that you have limited power, and once the power drains you will have nothing but your fists to protect you!" Bonnie laughed and disappeared back into the darkness, throwing Dennis on edge. Only his will to fight kept him from panic, and William could easily sense this as he had seen something like this happen to a few of his assistants. "How do we know when the power goes out?" He questioned, and William answered it. "We know the power goes out when those doors come up on their own and the whole room goes dark." His tone had a tinge of worry in it. "It is the most dangerous situation for guards like us, since the animatronics can see through the dark better than us." Dennis felt a tiny bit of fear rise in him, but not enough to overpower his courage, as he was not used to fighting in pitch blackness.

William kept looking around wearily, as if something had gotten into the office, and apparently something did. Both of them heard noises coming from the back-left corner of the office. "What the fuck is that noise..?" Dennis shakily questioned, as William turned around to face the noise. Dennis turned around soon after to be faced with a giant yellow version of Freddy. He didn't panic as this yellow bear spoke. "Greetings Mangrove, I've heard about you." The yellow bear's voice was deep and echoey, it sounded like he was speaking to a god. "Do not worry, Mangrove, I am a friend of William, and I mean no harm." Dennis eased hearing this, knowing that he had at least ONE animatronic friend here. The yellow bear introduced himself as Golden Freddy and told Dennis all about his past and stuff like that. "You know, that fox that didn't fight, he is on your side as well." He informed him, and Dennis relaxed to an almost-normal state. He was learning, and he needed to learn everything he could if he was to win 7 fights, since his job forced him to stay for 6 nights. Then suddenly it happened, the doors went up on their own and the room went dark, sending both Dennis and William into a defensive stance. Golden Freddy vanished from the room, leaving both of them to fight on their own. The red eyes of Bonnie gleamed in the darkness, and Freddy's white eyes shined through the darkness, Chica's eyes gleamed too but not as bright. Dennis knew he had to adapt quickly, and that's exactly what happened. His eyes adjusted and he could see the animatronics more clearly as they moved in on him. They attacked, with Bonnie leading the charge as he pounced onto Dennis, swiftly extending a claw hoping to make contact with his skin. Dennis dodged the attack by rolling under Bonnie and facing Freddy instead.

Bonnie landed on his feet and turned to face William, who was readying himself to fight. Bonnie leapt at William, both claws extended and aiming for his neck, but he was ready. William threw his hands out, shoving Bonnie backwards by hitting his chest hard. Bonnie skidded backwards, his legs bending to the point his feet could touch his nose. William spun around to see Dennis grappling with Freddy, both were injured and growing weak. William leapt onto Freddy and knocked him into the desk, while Dennis threw himself onto Bonnie, wrestling him viciously. Freddy threw William off, causing him to slam into the right-corner of the back wall. "WILLIAM!" Dennis yelled as he held Bonnie down. William struggled to get back up and Dennis ran to him, worried. "William, oh god…" Dennis held William tightly as his eyes blinked open. "I'm fine Dennis." He said as he stood back up and began his charge towards Bonnie. Dennis leapt onto Freddy and gripped him hard; Freddy thrashed around before knocking him off by throwing himself onto the floor. The impact nearly crushed his spine, but he survived. Dennis panted, heavily weakened by the blow to his back. William took over for the now weakened Dennis, and slammed Freddy into the desk once more, snapping his upper left-leg. Freddy was weak but he was not ready to lose to the very people he swore to destroy, he knew that William was old and that Dennis was young, so he would have an easy time killing William or so he thought. William was old, but he was smart, and he was able to outsmart the animatronics numerous times in the past, which is how he lived to be so old and yet still be a night guard here. William fought hard and fast, faster than the weak Freddy Fazbear, who was growling with rage. Freddy went in for a left hook to his face, but William blocked it and returned the hit with a right hook to his jaw. The blow was strong enough to knock Freddy out of the office. Meanwhile Dennis, who was still stunned by how weak he was in this situation, aggressively fought against Bonnie, despite his severe weakness. William was soon overtaken by Chica, who had him pinned against the desk, furiously snapping at him and clawing at him. Dennis managed to knock Bonnie out cold with a hard uppercut into his lower jaw. Bonnie hit the floor next to William and Chica fled knowing she was going to get beat. The two guards had won, for the second time, and were saved by the bell announcing that dawn had come.

Night 3

The third night came around quickly, as a weak William Jackson and a weak Dennis Mangrove entered. They could see that the damage from last night on the animatronics was still there, and they looked pretty weak now. As the two walked to the office, they couldn't help but notice the fox was already awake. The fox seemed sad, and helped the two get into the office, as he did this the fox told Dennis his name. "So your name is Foxy, what a nice name." Dennis answered calmly as he and William sat down in their chairs. Foxy sat down next to William, leaving Dennis by himself on the right side of the office. While he stared off into space, a thought entered his mind, and it was a terrible thought. The thought was about his deceased brother, Ian, and how they both used to fight together in glorious make-believe battles. William reminded Dennis of Ian, and it made him unhappy. He began to cry as images of him and his brother played in his mind.

William and Foxy overheard his sobbing and quieted down, silently staring. Dennis laid his head down on the desk faced away from the two, continuing to sob as memories of his brother flooded his mind. William, his father-like instincts kicking in, walked over to Dennis and gave him a look of pure pity. He placed his hand gently on his shoulder and asked him what was wrong in such a sad and worried tone. "Dennis..? A-Are you okay?" He asked him but Dennis didn't reply. William sighed and sat down next to him. "What's going on?" He questioned quietly. Dennis didn't respond, he only buried his head into William's chest, sobbing. William gently held him there, like how a father would hold his son. "Shh, let your pain out.." William felt his sadness, as Dennis began to explain what was happening that was making him cry. "I-It's my...brother.." He began. "He..he...died.." He began to break down entirely, and William still held him. "Tell me, how did he die?" He asked, and Dennis replied. "H-He got sick and... died from it." Dennis managed to force himself to say. William didn't quite know how to react to this, he had lost most of his family to many different sicknesses, so he could relate to his pain. Foxy came over and hugged both William and Dennis, both crying now. Foxy felt their pain, as he felt this way when he was alive years ago. He, too, lost his siblings, and these two guards reminded him of them, it made him sad just as how it made the guards sad. Dennis and William broke away from each other, and stared at each other in the eye, and drew their attention back to the animatronics who were moving towards them. Foxy's ears flattened as they walked in, those devilish grins growing; it was clear that they saw Dennis's tears. "Aww look! The little guard is crying!" Bonnie sneered, as Freddy began to laugh at them both. "What do you want?" Dennis said through his teeth while still crying, and Freddy responded to him. "To do THIS!" Freddy clawed Dennis's chest, sending him to the floor. Bonnie chuckled and Freddy smirked as William growled. Dennis laid there, bleeding slightly since the wound wasn't fatal nor large. "Since we've discovered that it is very difficult to kill you and Dennis, we'll start doing something else." Freddy said with confidence, as he and Bonnie disappeared from the room. Dennis heard that familiar chime as the two animatronics left, and he left the room.

Night 4

Dennis came back that night, to see that the animatronics had woken up before he even got there. They all moved like they were setting stuff up? Dennis was confused and dived underneath a table to eavesdrop on them. "How are we supposed to lure the guards out and make these traps even work?" Bonnie asked. "Patience, Bonnie, they'll walk right into these traps because of how foolish they are." Freddy answered. Chica then spoke up. "How will these traps specifically work?" Freddy then began to explain all of the traps and how they will work. Dennis could see Foxy standing off to the side. "Freddy, why kill them? Can't we just let them-" Freddy cut Foxy off by grabbing him by his throat. "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT SAYING I SHOULD SPARE HIM!" He yelled angrily, causing Foxy to shrink. "It is against our morals to spare the guard, why would you even suggest that?!" Bonnie chimed in. "Because...because…" Foxy couldn't find the right words as they closed in on him. That's when Dennis jumped out from his hiding spot, standing in front of Foxy, snarling. "It's because he actually has feelings unlike you!" He yelled at them, stamping his right foot forward. "If you had learned what it was to have feelings, you wouldn't be malicious and evil like you are now! You wouldn't be trying to kill me if you had feelings, now would you? Now back off from him!" Dennis roared, he was intentionally defending Foxy, who had a look of fear for Dennis. "Guard what are you.." Foxy was cut off as Dennis yelled once more. "Maybe if you chose to step into my shoes for a while, then you'd understand Foxy's pain, he has to watch as you kill off his friends and make him suffer for having sympathy!" Dennis breathed hard, his yelling was wearing him out.

Freddy, becoming more and more enraged with every word Dennis spoke, clawed Dennis's forehead. "WE WERE CREATED WITHOUT EMOTIONS, YOU STUPID NIGHT GUARD!" He roared. "AND WE DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU OR FOXY FEEL!" Freddy's eyes turned pitch black with eye dots as his pupils. He shoved Dennis out of the way and faced Foxy, who was cowering in fear. "Well? Are you on that guard's side?!" Freddy yelled at him. Foxy hesitated, and very shakily he answered. "Y-Yes...Because he gets me! He understands me! He doesn't treat me like I'm nothing, unlike you! Who treated me like shit because I wasn't on the main stage with you!" Foxy bravely said, tears flowing from his eyes as he continued. "I only took the guard's side because I couldn't stand killing! I'm not like you, and that's one of the many reasons you cast me away, so I had no other choice but to take the guard's side to feel...accepted."

Dennis was speechless as he listened, Foxy actually thought that Dennis knew his feelings and thoughts. The feelings, he knew, but the thoughts, he didn't. "He made me feel like I was wanted, and it made me feel happy. He made me feel special." Foxy said, tears still streaming. Before he could continue on, Freddy scratched the left side of Foxy's head, knocking him down. "TRAITOR!" He angrily roared at him, and pounced on him. Before he landed on Foxy, Golden Freddy jumped out of the shadows, slamming into Freddy. "LAY OFF OF FOXY!" He commanded as Freddy laid there, glaring. Golden Freddy helped Foxy get to his feet, and helped Dennis get up. Freddy snarled, but felt defeated by Golden Freddy and slinked off. Bonnie and Chica finished this supposed trap and followed him. This marked the end of the night for them all, and they left the building.

Night 5

Dennis and William both entered the building together, looking out for movement from the animatronics. Dennis was more vigilant and alert than he ever was now, and so was William. "What do you think they were doing last night? William asked him in a worried tone. "They were setting something up. It was a trap of some sort, I just don't know what that trap does." He answered, it was clearly obvious to William that Dennis was shaken by the thought of booby traps around the pizzeria. William's turned his gaze away from Dennis and onto Foxy. "What's happened to Foxy?" He asked. "They found out where his allegiances lie, and they attacked him for it. I just there and saw the whole thing, even risked my life to defend him." Dennis answered bravely. They both turned their attention to Foxy, who was sitting on the floor of his cove, his knees pressed against his chest and his head buried within them. "Whatever they did to him, they broke his mentality really badly. Poor foxy." William said with sadness. Dennis felt bad for Foxy, he couldn't relate to Foxy because he had never been an outcast in his life, but he could relate to the intense sadness it caused, since he had been sad for 80% of life due to his moderate depression that his brother's death caused.

Dennis and William walked down the right hallway to the familiar office they both knew so well now. Foxy heard their footsteps and looked up at them as they walked. Foxy glanced at the three other animatronics, who were silent and still. Foxy gave a small snarl at them, and began to make his way down to the office. Foxy poked his head in to see Dennis and William working, and he smiled. "Hey Dennis, thanks." Foxy said out of the blue. Hearing his name, he turned to Foxy with confusion. "Thanks for standing up for me." He continued. Dennis blinked about 3 times before answering him. "No problem, Foxy. You're a friend, and I always stand up for friends, even if it means I have to lose my life for it." William gave a small smile hearing that, his old heart being warmed by Dennis's kindness and loyalty to his friends. "You remind me of my son, Dennis." He began. "He was kind and loyal, strong and fast. He never faltered when under pressure, and had such a firm but gentle touch." William gazed up as he said. "Every time I looked at you, I saw him, I saw my son in you.." William's voice began to crack. "I...I still miss him even to this day." Dennis became curious and asked him about that. "What happened to your son? Did he die?" William shook his head. "No, he's still alive, but… He left home and sought his life somewhere else, away from me. I must've been too hard on him." Dennis lifted an eyebrow. "The night before he left, we got into an argument, and he ended winning it and left." William began to cry, just like how Dennis cried when his brother came to mind. Dennis knew he had to be the one to comfort him, but he didn't know how to comfort someone who was clearly much older than him.

Dennis could only think of one thing, and he did just that. He hugged William gently, and William placed his hand on his head. He began to speak again. "My son used to do that when he was young. Whenever I was sad or angry, he would just come out of nowhere and hug me." Dennis just kept holding him comfortingly. "It's as if… You're another version of him." He said, his voice cracking badly now, his beard was soaked from his tears. Dennis looked up at him and said. "Maybe I am another version of your son." These words made William smile a bit. He wiped away his tears and spoke. "It's strange. It's like we… switched roles. You became the father figure and I became the young one when originally it was you that was the young one and I was the father figure." Dennis spoke once more in a questioning tone. "How did you know that I saw you as a father figure..?" William turned to him and gently patted his head. "Simple, I looked for a specific gleam in your eyes, and I saw it as you cried into my chest and that's how I knew." Dennis wondered if he could learn this technique that William had.

They both began to hear movement on the other side of the pizzeria, and the moment died away quickly as both of them went on alert. William looked out the door leading into the left hallway, but saw nothing. "That's odd, they're not coming." He said, concerned. "Maybe I should go investigate." He began to move, but Dennis grabbed his arm, stopping him. "No! It could be a trap, they might be trying to lure us out." William hesitated, thinking about this. The time has come William thought. He gently pulled away from Dennis and placed his hand on his shoulder. "We need to know what they're doing, whatever it takes." Dennis looked into his eyes and saw that even William didn't want to go out there, but something was telling him to. William stepped out of the door and began to walk, Dennis sort of followed, hopping out into the hallway and silently watching. William looked around, trying to see where the animatronics were, but little did he know, he was walking directly into the trap the animatronics had laid. As William passed the closet, the trap was sprung, and a knife shot out from the closet, impaling William in the side. "WILLIAM!" Dennis screamed, and dashed over to the fallen William. Bonnie leapt out of the closet and laughed. "FINALLY!" William laid there, bleeding and groaning painfully. Foxy had come out of the office by now, and was charging towards Bonnie when he saw William fall. "YOU MONSTER!" Foxy roared as he knocked Bonnie down, pinning him against the floor.

Dennis desperately ran towards William, sobbing like mad. He reached William and gently picked him up, placing his upper back portion on his knees. "C-C'mon Will, please don't die!" He begged. William coughed and spoke in a painful tone. "M-My time...has...come.." William looked at Dennis with such a look of pain, knowing that Dennis will miss him. "No, don't say that! You'll live, you just need help!" Dennis yelled, his tone sounded fearful. "...No..I...won't..live, you must...let me go.." He coughed. "No..I-I can't just let you die! I…" Dennis broke off, tears flooded his eyes. William finished his sentence painfully. "...Needed me. You...needed..me." Dennis just kept crying as William shakily placed his hand on Dennis's soaked face. "Dennis listen to me...I...may...not be here physically, but I will always…be with you...in here." William placed a finger on Dennis's chest. Dennis bent over and placed his forehead on William's chest. "No...don't leave me here alone." William shed a tear as Dennis said that, as he knew how painful this was for Dennis to watch as the only person he truly ever knew slowly die before him. "Dennis...do not cry tears of sadness because I am dying...cry tears of joy that you were lucky enough to have me in your life.." William placed his head on Dennis's back. "Promise...me...something...Dennis." He coughed. "Promise...me...that...you...will...be...strong." Dennis stared at his dying eyes with a painful sadness. "I...promise.." Dennis said, his voice cracking. "Good.." William said, his voice starting to die out. "Th...an...k...y..ou..Den...nis.." Those were William's last words, before he gave the long exhale signifying his death.

His hand that was placed on Dennis's back slid off, and his other hand went limp. The light in William's eyes died away and they closed forever. Foxy turned and saw William's dead body, and flew into a rage. His eyes turned black and he began to tear at Bonnie's chest, as Dennis just sat there crying his eyes out over his fallen friend. Dennis looked up to see Foxy mercilessly scratch and bite at Bonnie. He jumped up and grabbed Foxy, sort of dragging him backwards. Foxy eased feeling Dennis's hands, and looked at Bonnie, who was fatally wounded. Then they both heard a noise, and looked behind to see Golden Freddy, leaning over William's body, with a sad expression. "William was such a good man, and a very friendly guard. It's a shame he had to go out like this." He said, his voice sounding sad. Foxy began to cry, since he had known William since the day William became a guard, so his death was as devastating as it was to Dennis. Golden Freddy pulled out the knife that ripped William's life away from him. "Wherever his spirit went, I hope he's in peace now." They all turned to see the light of dawn flood the pizzeria, as Dennis walked over to William. Dennis placed his hand on his lifeless chest and gave one final goodbye to him. "Goodbye, William Jackson. My friend, and the father I never had. May you find peace wherever your spirit goes." And with that, he picked up his body and carried him into the office, laying his body in his chair. He looked at him and turned away, and left the building for the 5th time.

Night 6

Dennis came back for the final night, but he didn't go into the office as he normally should have. He just sat down in the closest chair, quietly laying there. Foxy peeked out of his curtain and saw him just laying there, and walked over. He placed his hand on Dennis and signaled for him to follow. Dennis looked up and obeyed, and Foxy led him into the office. It was here that Dennis broke down, he couldn't bear to look at the chair where William once sat. Every time he glanced at that chair, he cried. He missed William greatly, and the thought of never seeing William again tore his heart apart. Foxy could feel his pain, and it made him sad too. As Foxy cried, Dennis cried with him. "Foxy…" He began to speak. "...What was William like before he met me?" Foxy wiped his tears and answered. "He was a great man, a father figure to all young men he encountered while working here. He was kind and smart, and easily forgave all. He was a gentle soul, with a loving touch. As calm and quiet as he was, he still put up a good fight, he was raised well, since he had learned that violence did not solve everything, neither did vengeance."

Foxy stared into the ceiling, and began to talk about the many things he and William did together, he also talked about the many conversations he had with him. Dennis listened to Foxy's words, and began to get a mental image of what William looked like back then. "I wish I knew him as well as you did." He said, sighing. "He sounded like a great guy when he was young." Dennis looked down, and wondered where his spirit might've gone. "I hope he'll meet-" Dennis was interrupted by a twinkling noise. When he turned around, his jaw dropped. There, standing before him, were the spirits of William and Dennis's brother. Dennis quickly walked over to them and attempted to touch them. He was lost for words as his brother's spirit spoke in an echoey voice. "Dennis, my brother, you've grown well." Dennis was on the verge of crying again by now. "Br...Brother? Is that you?" He said, shocked. "Who are you?" Foxy asked the spirit of Dennis's brother, to which he answered. "I am Ian Mangrove. The deceased brother of Dennis Mangrove." Foxy blinked for second, remembering when Dennis was upset. "Your brother is such a nice person." William's spirit spoke, his voice was echoey too. Dennis smiled, and so did the spirit of his brother. "I see my death has still had some effect on you." William's spirit spoke. "It's my fault you died, William, I should've tried harder to stop you. Then you wouldn't be dead.." William's spirit floated over to Dennis and lifted his chin. "Like I said, do not cry tears of sadness because I have died, cry tears of joy that you were lucky enough to have me in your life." With those words William and Ian both vanished. Dennis just stood there stunned, and he knew what he had to do. He had to avenge William. He heard the loud footsteps of Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica growing louder and sounding closer. After about a minute they poked their heads into the office and stepped inside, chuckling. "Aww poor little Dennis, all alone without his friend!" Chica sneered. "This'll be easier, since the grief he feels will make him weak." Bonnie spoke next. "Guard, I'm giving you a choice. Either give up and let us kill you quickly and painlessly, or make it difficult and suffer a slow painful death. The choice is yours." Freddy spoke in a serious tone. Dennis hesitated, then spoke. "I will keep fighting, but I will only fight Bonnie now. The rest of you will watch." He declared. Freddy and Chica looked at each other and nodded. "Fine, only Bonnie will kill you." Freddy answered. After hearing THAT Bonnie grinned like the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland, and flexed his claws. Dennis stood still and waited for Bonnie to come at him, which he did. Bonnie threw himself at Dennis, who reacted by leaping at him and kneeing him into the air, causing him to hit the ground hard enough to stun him. While he was stunned, Dennis climbed onto his already-injured chest and began to tear at it, scratching and ripping things apart in him. Bonnie was howling and screeching in pain, begging for Freddy to help him. Freddy and Chica were too shocked to move. It was like they were scared of Dennis? Still, Dennis continued to claw at Bonnie before eventually tearing something that made Bonnie go limp. Dennis got off of him and snarled. "That's what you get for killing William." Freddy and Chica's eyes were wide as Dennis glanced at them. "HE..HE KILLED BONNIE!" Chica yelled, her voice sounded terrified. Freddy and Chica both ran out of the room, in full-on fear. After defeating Bonnie, Dennis looked at the necklace around his neck that once belonged to William. "I have avenged you, my friend." Dennis said as he heard that familiar noise signaling the dawn. Dennis took his hat off and placed it on the desk, and left. From then on, the story of the guard who fought back was told numerous times by the many employees of the pizzeria. Even though Dennis no longer works there, the story stays fresh in that pizzeria, and Dennis became the bravest of all the guards.

The end. 


End file.
